Abstract

Originally, ‘longing’ was not understood as something that emanates from the self, like desire, but as something that is provoked in the self by an outside source: one would be passive in what relates to longing. Despite that, as Rilke says, “I’m made of longing”: what defines me the most are not the things I do, but the things I aspire to. Moreover, if longing is provoked, the oneness of someone is not a personal project, but a response. To get in touch with what ‘longs’ for me is, therefore, decisive. And, correspondingly the places where I’m prompted to longing will be of superior importance — they would be regenerative environments, since they would drive me to connect with what is most intimate and definitive of my self; they would be places of clairvoyance. Seascapes, with a clear line of horizon, especially those facing west — where the sun plunges, drawing a red carpet to it — such seascapes have that prompted-to-longing quality. The clear horizontal line of the horizon stands simultaneously at the infinite and close at hand; one could apprehend the line of the horizon between the fingertips, like a pencil or pen. There, the infinite is tangible. Such a close presence of the infinite interrogates humans. It posits the question about what is behind. Such a line states a sort of complementarity to everyday life, which is maybe the most existentially decisive requirement to everyday life. This paper explores phenomenologically the contemplative-restorative power of the seaside.

Presenters

Pedro Abreu
Assistant Professor, Department of History and Theory of Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture - Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Changing Dimensions of Contemporary Leisure

KEYWORDS

Seaside, Horizon, Contemplative environment, Restorative environment, Celtic landscapes

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